Defining a static path through a communications network to provide wiretap law compliance

Abstract

By defining a static path through a communications network for a call placed by an IP-based telephonic device, stream of packets representing the call are rendered available for wiretapping on a communications network that includes a first and a second switching/routing element. The static path is defined using Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP). The first switching/routing element responds to a call initiation request received from the telephonic device by sending an RSVP PATH message to the second switching/routing element. The first switching/routing element marks packets sent by the telephonic device with an identical MPLS Forwarding Equivalence Class (FEC) label, so that the plurality of packets will traverse a predesignated IP address in the communications path, and so as to allow law enforcement officials to monitor packets originating from an IP-based telephonic device using a monitoring mechanism situated at the predesignated IP address.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The invention relates generally to communication networks and, more specifically, to techniques for routing a packet-based voice call over a known path on a communication network. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] By design, Internet Protocol (IP) allows data packets to travel from point A to point B over any available path. In a manner analogous to that of a motorist bypassing slow or stopped traffic, data packets are directed along a route so as to avoid congested network nodes. Although this traffic routing feature is desirable because it provides quick, efficient data packet transfers across the network, it poses a significant problem in situations where there is a need to monitor a stream of packets directed from point A to point B. Such a stream of packets may represent, for example, a telephone call using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Pursuant to the United States Federal Communications A...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] By defining a static path through a communications network for at least one call placed by an IP-based telephonic device, the novel methods of the present invention allow a stream of packets representing the call to be wiretapped on a communications network that includes at least a first and a second switching/routing element. This static path is defined using Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) protocols. Pursuant to a first embodiment of the invention, the first switching/routing element responds to a call initiation request received from the IP-based telephonic device by sending an RSVP PATH message over the communications network to the second switching/routing element. The PAT

Problems solved by technology

Although this traffic routing feature is desirable because it provides quick, efficient data packet transfers across the network, it poses a significant problem in situations where there is a need to monitor a stream of packets directed from point A to point B. Such a stream of packets may represent, for example, a telephone call using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Since IP allows individual packets to reach a destination across any of a variety of

Images